tax hook would only fund the government for eight days. americans deserve to know what is the president -- what does the president propose we do for the other 357 days of the year. >> reporter: president obama insists his plan on the table is fair and includes plenty of cuts to government spending. >> we just can't afford a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> reporter: if sunday's negotiations don't pan out, the president said he's ready to propose his own scaled-back bill that would block tax increases for all but the wealthy. and preserve expiring unemployment benefits. with the deficit ticking ever higher, patience is wearing thin. >> for those of us who invest in the stock market, it's disgusting to watch them jockey around with our money. >> reporter: missing in all the last-minute negotiations is talk of the $1.2 trillion of mandatory spending cuts scheduled to go into affect today. tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >>> former president george h.w. bush is 88 years old and sent to the hospital last month in hous